Stepfather charged in 6-year-old's shooting death

The Associated Press

The father of a two-year-old Fresno boy who accidentally shot and killed his older stepsister is facing criminal charges over the shooting.

The Fresno Bee reports that Jarred Dubois was charged with first-degree criminal storage of a firearm on Wednesday. Authorities say Dubois' son found the loaded .45-caliber handgun under his father's bed on May 29.

When the boy took the weapon into a room where other children were playing, his stepsister, six-year-old Emily Lavender, was shot in the chest.

During a search of the home, police say they seized 53 guns.

Attorney Mark Coleman, who is representing the 33-year-old Dubois, says many of the firearms belong to Dubois' father, who teaches firearms classes for Boy Scouts and Sea Cadets.